📢 1 word that makes you a better friend

Most conversations start with a lie.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Good”

We go through this little ritual almost on autopilot.

But it's a lie, and not just because it's grammatically incorrect. People seldom answer this question with the truth. Answering it with anything worse than good is seen as “trauma dumping.”

While this might be ok with strangers, what about people you care about? I’ve had many friends tell me they're doing “good” only to find out later they’re the opposite.

I wanted the people I cared about to feel comfortable being honest with me from the beginning.

I needed to show them I really wanted to know how they were doing. 

So I told them. By adding 1 extra word.

How are you, really?

Adding “really” does alot of heavy lifting.

It shows them I genuinely want to know how they are doing. t shows them I’m not asking to be polite.

It tells them I care.

I immediately saw a difference in how people answered.

Generic “good” became an honest answer. People started to tell me why they felt the way they felt. 

• I’m tired, I’ve had to pull some late nights at work lately.

• I’m great! We celebrated my cousin's wedding this past weekend.

• Honestly, I’ve been better I’ve been feeling overwhelmed by school.

By showing people I was interested they felt comfortable being honest.

These responses spurred more meaningful conversations and more meaningful connections. The key here is you need to ask sincerely. You need to ask this to people you genuinely care about. 

Otherwise, it feels like you’re reading from a script.

If you want to learn other ways to improve your relationships join The Charisma Gym.

It's like a gym to work out your social skills made specifically for introverts. Inside you'll get all the information you need to become a master communicator and real-time practice calls to turn theory into skills. It's free for the first 100 people who join after which I will start charging.

Join HERE and become a founding member with lifetime free access.

That’s a wrap!

See you next Friday,

— Justus Bosch

P.S. when your friend realizes you really care